These poems depict a journey through a dark landscape, where the political and personal are fused into a geography of disinformation, sex, betrayal and deadly technology. Phelan has produced verbal "snapshots" of a subterranean war-- with fronts in Los Angeles as well as Fallujah-- where the only defense is one's integrity and the stakes may be life itself.

Janet Phelan - Reporter at Large

Drowning in Garbage

Along with generally unstable governments and economic woes, the developing world has another, somewhat insidious problem: plastic pollution.

International corporations, seeking markets in developing countries, bring along with them a particular form of “baggage”—waste products and refuse. Coca Cola bottles, Frito bags, Twinkie wrappers—in large part, the packaging solution for multinationals is plastic. The developing world largely lacks the infrastructure in place to deal with this petrochemical polymer influx and plastic garbage has become a major environmental concern, with the impact felt world-wide.

Case in point is the Eastern Garbage Patch, so dubbed by oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer. This patch of marine debris inhabits the Pacific Ocean and consists of small pieces of plastic, some floating and some suspended beneath the surface of the ocean. Estimates of the size of the patch range from 270,000 square miles to 5,800,000 square miles—or twice the size of the continental US.

The garbage patch is thought to have developed due to a gradual accumulation of plastic refuse and was formed over a period of time as a result of the oceanic gyre’s rotational pattern.

The effects on marine wildlife and by extension, all mammals which eat marine wildlife, is of grave concern. Jellyfish are known to indiscriminately consume plastic, and then are eaten by larger fish, which then may be consumed by humans. Endocrine systems may misread plastic as estradiol, resulting in hormone disruption, as well as other known toxic effects.

S. Africa's Dr. Death Again Evades Sentencing

In a last minute strategic move by counsel, Dr. Wouter Basson’s sentencing by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has again been delayed.

Basson, who was found guilty by the HPCSA in 2013 of acting unprofessionally as the director of the apartheid government’s biological and chemical warfare unit, Project Coast, may have had one of the longest running trials in history. The initial complaints against him were filed with the medical board in 2000, only to be delayed until the conclusion of his criminal trial in Pretoria High Court.

As director of Project Coast in the eighties and early nineties, Basson allegedly provided assassination chemicals to members of the South African Defence Force, and, according to testimony heard in the criminal case, was involved in 229 murders. In addition, he was charged with embezzlement, drug trafficking and possession of illegal drugs. When he was arrested in 1997, he had more than 1000 Ecstasy tablets in his possession.

The judge in the criminal matter, Willie Hartzenberg, acquitted Basson of all charges against him in 2002. There were over 150 witnesses who testified against Dr. Basson. Basson was the sole witness in his defense.

"Black Site" Reported in Norwalk, California

Tuesday, 10 March 2015 07:31 | Written by Janet Phelan | | |

When the Guardian published its stunning expose on a black site interrogation center located in Chicago, the response from the mainstream US press was a profound vacuum: the story was met with a well of silence. There were a few scattered follow up stories—most notably in the Atlantic, but by and large the story was ignored by the US media.

One question that the revelation of a domestic black site raises is: Are there others, in Chicago and in other parts of the US, where individuals are taken without being legally processed and subjected to denial of due process, enhanced interrogation techniques, torture or even worse?

The answer is yes.

In Norwalk, California, there exists a small compound which is located under Harbor General Hospital, off the parking structure. It is composed of a common area, a barred cell room off to the left, and a “staff” area after the common area and off to the right of the caged cell. It constitutes a “mini” black site compound suitable for one, possibly two detainees.

I can describe this compound from memory as I was taken there by a Long Beach Police Officer, Loren Dawson, and subsequently rendered into unconsciousness on January 3 of 2003. I was in a coma for several days. When I came to, I was in a hospital on a heart monitor.

There exist no arrest records, booking or processing records for this event, which is detailed in my book EXILE, published last year. There do exist some follow up hospital records. This site is known to the local police. Given what happened to me in that location, I have grave concerns for what may have happened to others who may have been taken there.

My concerns are enhanced by the absence of other reports from other individuals concerning their experiences at the black site. Are these people still alive? Did they survive their experiences at the Norwalk black site?

The Guardian article on Homan Square detailed at least one death that occurred in that black site. Have deaths occurred also at the Norwalk black site?

As I have left the US and do not intend to return, I am requesting a complete investigation of this “mini” black site and am asking for the cooperation of local and independent media.

Here is the relevant excerpt from EXILE. The mention of a “Jack Smith” refers to a federal intelligence agent whose activities occupy a chunk of the preceding narrative.

As the officer handcuffed me, I peered at his badge. Dawson. I was put in the back of a squad car. The windows were dark and I could not see where he was transporting me. Funny smoke was coming out the small hole in the window separating the front seat from the back. “What is that,” I said sharply. “You'll be as calm as a sack of potatoes by the time we get there,” was all he said. “Where are we going?” I said. “To die,” said Dawson. He seemed to straighten up and declared, “I am operating under the protection of the President.” “Can I choose how?” I asked. He chuckled. “I don't want any violence,” I said. I could just see myself smashed to a bloody heap by this big officer. Negotiating my demise, I said, hopefully, “A drug overdose would work.”He chuckled again. “Sure thing,” he said. After about twenty minutes I felt the car turn, then begin to slow down. Dawson turned off the key. I was quite high by that time. The smoke being pumped into the rear of the car had stopped when he turned off the engine. I knew I had to clear my head and began to stall, gulping fresher air. Dawson was patient. He helped me out of the car and I took several more deep breaths. Still stalling, I told him I didn't think I could walk. I leaned against the car a few minutes and felt the high start to drop off. We were in an underground parking garage. Dawson led me through a door into a small basement compound. There was an anteroom and off to the left was a cell, with bars and a steel bed. And people. There were six or seven people waiting in the compound, all in street clothes. Dawson had brought me in and left. The people seemed occupied with something in a desk area. “Excuse me, “ I said to a mustached man. He was around forty and casually dressed in cargos and a plaid shirt. “Are you a police officer?” “Yes,” he said brusquely. I asked a couple of the other people the same question and got affirmative replies from all of them. I was still fighting to clear my head. Next to the mustached man I saw a red felt pen. “I am going to die soon,” I thought wearily. “I need to send a message.” I picked up the pen and quickly marked up my wrists with broad slashes of red ink. The mustached man issued a small bark of alarm and grabbed the pen from me. I backed away from him and into the cell area. I sat down on the cell bed and pondered my options. I didn't think I had any. A slim, black­skinned woman, who had already told me she was police, came to the cell. “Someone here to see you, Miss Phelan,” she said briskly. I walked out of the cell. A small Vietnamese looking woman was sitting on the bench. Looking at her, I felt a wave of horror. She was disfigured, with terrible scars crisscrossing her face. I am still under the effects of the drug, I thought. I can't even tell if this is a mask or her real face. “I am Dr. Tran,” she said, with a seasoned, professional manner. “I'd like to ask you a few questions.” I sat down next to her. Good grief, she was frightening looking. “Tell me,” said Dr. Tran. “Who is Jack Smith?” ...I didn't want to talk to her, not at all. I jumped up and backed away. And that is when it happened. One of the men who had been busying himself in the desk area suddenly approached me, syringe in hand. He was around 5'8”, Latin or Filipino, mid to late thirties. He plunged the needle into my arm and everything went dark.

Did the US DOJ Just Lie to the UN?

For Americans, confidence in government is at a low. Growing numbers of people now question nearly any declaration made by the US government, particularly when its assertions are either

1) addressing terrorism or

2) addressing domestic policies.

Recent statements by David Bitkower, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, United States Department of Justice to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, statements made during the review by that body of the US and its torture policies during the past five years, could be considered as subsumed under both of the above two categories. And sadly, Bitkower misrepresented actions taken by the US DOJ.

Social Media Giants Adopt "Mob Rule" Tactics

The recent decisions by social media giants Facebook and LinkedIn to adopt user crowd-censoring strategies may be less than benevolent.

According to its recent announcement, Facebook will employ an algorithm, based ostensibly on the numbers of user-generated flags, to reduce or mitigate the distribution of stories flagged as “false.” In addition, Facebook has announced that stories flagged in this manner will contain notice that the story has been determined to contain false information.

As stated in Facebook’s announcement this past week, “Today’s update to News Feed reduces the distribution of posts that people have reported as hoaxes and adds an annotation to posts that have received many of these types of reports to warn others on Facebook. We are not removing stories people report as false and we are not reviewing content and making a determination on its accuracy.”

According to Tweaktown, “This change will see posts that include links, photos, videos and general status updates affected – seeing it not limited to company news articles only.”

Fox News reports another angle on what constitutes “fake news.” According to Fox, “conspiracy theories” are also included. Reports Fox, “It’s launching a new feature that will let anyone report a post as being false. Those stories can include reports like celebrity deaths, conspiracy theories and promises of “free” products…”

Conspiracy theories­? Like who killed JFK and who was behind the attacks of September 11? Suddenly, Facebook’s interest in controlling spam seems less altruistic.